He gives and takes away
School May 29th, 2012
A couple weeks ago Pastor Al preached on resisting the love of money, that it has to do with contentedness. He said that at the heart of complaining is not being content with what God has given you and essentially with God Himself. I know it may not look it, but I struggle a lot with complaining. Sometimes I just feel like it’s a second language, it comes so naturally. My focus word this year is supposed to be ‘thankfulness’ because I really want to curb this complaining thing. Every night, before I start in on the long list of things that need fixin’, I try to first think of all that I am thankful for that day. Today feels like the cap on a period of a couple of weeks where it has been easy to complain or to be “not content” let alone happy, and I was reminded of P.Al’s message and it really hit me right in the heart.
God has given me so much. He has given me a home to live in, and although it’s leaking from the 1000 ml’s of rain we’ve gotten over the past week, I dont have to spend the night in a shelter, nothing of value was ruined, and I got to spend the whole day with Tony and Daniel cleaning up the basement. Even though we were working from 10AM to 6PM, Daniel and I got to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together, which does not happen very often.
He has given me Emily and Hannah, who at their worst are just two teenage girls deeply annoyed and embarrassed by their older sister, and at the best, are two of the funniest people I’ve ever known. I need to treasure every moment I spend with them because God has given me such great responsibility, a little portion of His treasure to take care of, and take that very seriously. They are sweet and their hugs, when earnest, are beautiful and most importantly, I love them so so strongly.
He has given me a place to live that, although I’m waterlogged and seen enough rain to jump on an ark myself, we’re not in a drought, we can grow our own food, where life can thrive.
He has given me Daniel, who is the sweetest, most compassionate best friend I could ask for. Quick to apologize, and even quicker to forgive… he slaved away on our basement and building me a fence for the garden, my cup overflows.
He has given me His Son, who was the greatest gift of all and makes me the most indebted sinner on my knees.
So much, so much to be thankful for…these words are just a small reflection.
2 Responses to “He gives and takes away”
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May 31st, 2012 at 11:27 am
I have read a few verses on thankfulness the past few days. Psalm 116:17 and Hebrews 13:15. So much we have in our lives to be grateful for – even if it’s hard to say thanks.
I’m thankful for good breakfast (that I don’t have to make!), a chance to read and watch tv and hang out with Earl, kind nurses who take care of me, and hearing my babies’ hearts beat twice a day. <3
June 5th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Thank you for the reminder of how blessed I, too, am.